Mending a bed sheet

Can you save the planet by mending one bed sheet? Probably not, but it will save you alot of money to do it yourself and repurpose it.

I have a large hole in one of my bedsheets. Typically, my washing machine eats these on a regular basis if I don’t have a full load. I could just zig zag over the hole, but that would not leave it flat and chances are, it would tear again very soon because it would be weak where I stitched it. It is already weak because of the hole. This is what happened the last time I tried to fix it. (See photo below).

I did put a plush piece of theramalam** under the previous hole and tightly zig zagged over the rip, but it wasn’t stable enough with all the washings.

So, now let’s talk about fixing this hole.

First, get out a scrap piece of cloth that closely matches your bed sheet. Wait a minute, who is going to see this thing anyway? No one. So, get out any scrap piece of fabric, the crazier the better! What I’m saying is that unless someone can see it or unless you care what the fabric looks like, you can use any scrap you have. The only recommendation I have is that you find a soft piece in case your little toes, fingers or nose rub up against it in the night.

Mine has to match because my mom was a neat freak and I inherited the gene, and even though she’ll never see it because she’s been gone 15 years, this is how it has to be for me.

Hey, you never forget what your mom taught you, right?

Now, once you have that fabric, cut it a little larger than the area you are mending. Now, if you have a serger, you can serge around the edges of the scrap to keep it from fraying. Another way to keep the edges from raveling is to use your regular sewing machine and zig zag around all the edges. A third idea is to use Fray Block around the edges. Let it dry before continuing on.

Now, pin the patch over the hole. Your pins should be perpendicular to the line that you will sew. This is so that when you get close to the pin, a) you can pull the pin out easily before you run over it and b) if you do happen to run over the pin, chances are better that you won’t break your needle.

Actually, don’t run over your pins! It’s a bad habit.

Plus, if you sew over pins, I recommend wearing eye protection: glasses or goggles of some sort.

I’ve had a few pins and needles break and one got awfully close to my left eyeball. That was enough to convince me that eye protection is so important.

The next step is to sew around the perimeter of the patch close to the edge. If you feel the need to secure it more, sew around the patch a second time.

To secure the patch down well so that it stays in place during future washings, stitch some rows up and down and across the patch, as shown in the photo below:

Now, if you want it to be super durable (and I should think you do. After all, it’s alot easier to make it more durable now than down the road. And you already have it under the machine!)

Repeat the process entirely by putting a second patch directly on the same spot on the other side of the sheet, covering all the work you just did and sew it down again. If you’re particular, do the backside first and then the front. If you do it that way, you’ll see this (photo above) on the top side. The under side will show twice the stitching.

Now, get out there and do some arm bending sheet mending!

And here’s a post if you want to learn How to permanently fix a mattress pad.

***P.S. Just so you know, Thermalam is like a thick piece of felt. It is great for making tote bags and other crafts and that is why I had it on hand. You can buy it where you find interfacing at your local fabric shop. I found some Thermalam at JoAnn Fabrics. You don’t need much unless you are going to use it for other projects.